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Transitions graduates are guest stars at All Japan Dance Festival 2018

Fri 17 August 2018

Two recent graduates of Trinity Laban’s Transitions Dance Company have performed to an audience of 2,000 as guest artists at Japan’s only nationwide event for young dancers.

Orion Hart and Yee Kei Yuki Chung performed In Search of Connection at the 31st All Japan Dance Festival in Kobe in August, accompanied by music written by Trinity Laban composition student Mikey Parsons.

The competitive three-day event at Kobe Festival Hall is one of the most important dance events in Japan, and features 4,000 young dancers from across the world competing for eight grand prizes.

The two performances from Yuki and Orion on the festival’s final day will be broadcast on TV across Japan later this year. 

In Search of Connection is “an exploration into the sensation of touch and how this can impact upon one‘s physical and emotional states of being. It reflects the dichotomy of the human condition and how we constantly search for physical connection with others, but shy away from it at the same time.”

Orion said – 

“Performing at the All Japan Dance Festival has been a real privilege and an absolutely incredible experience. The quality of the competitors was astonishingly high and all of the staff were so welcoming and hospitable. It was a bit daunting performing on such a big stage and in front of so many people but our time on tour with Transitions Dance Company left us with the skills to adapt and maintain our composure.

“Japan is a beautiful country and we have had an amazing time exploring and getting a taste for the culture, hopefully one day soon we may come back!”

Funding for this international exchang opportunity was provided by the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation, a UK-Japan organisation promoting and supporting cultural collaboration and exchange.

Transitions is the world’s first graduate dance company. Yuki and Orion performed on the 2018 tour, visiting venues across the UK and beyond with a triple bill of specially commissioned contemporary works from international choreographers.

This October, Trinity Laban will be holding auditions in Japan for music and dance programmes. For more information see the Japan Country web page.

For more information see the Transitions Dance Company web page.